IT Strategic Consulting Services

Spring is in full bloom in New England and the on-demand services market is also flourishing as companies of all sizes seek to offset the ill-effects of the slowing economy by leveraging Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) and managed service alternatives.

THINKstrategies is also expanding its portfolio of services to keep pace with the rapid growth of the on-demand services market.

We are leveraging our unique access to the leading SaaS and managed service providers (MSPs) to offer a new webcast series that combines the conversational qualities of podcasts with the visual advantages of webinars.

This newsletter will tell you more about this exciting new series and our latest research, writings, Showplace additions and other activities regarding the on-demand services market.

We are also pleased to welcome over 300 new suscribers to our rapidly growing newsletter distribution list, bringing our total to over 8900 IT/ business decision-makers, IT solution providers, investors and press.

I hope you find this newsletter valuable.

Contact me if you'd like to learn more about THINKstrategies' services.

Jeff Kaplan

Managing Director

THINKstrategies

THINKstrategies' SaaS & Managed Services Showplace Growth Mirror Market

THINKstrategies Managed Services and Software-as-a-Service Showplace directories continue to serve as a bellweather for the growth of the overall on-demand services market.

There are now over 700 companies offering over 3000 solutions on the SaaS Showplace divided into 80 Application, Industry and Enabling Technology categories. There are also over 120 companies listed on the Managed Services Showplace organized into 40 Service, Industry and Enabling Technology categories.

The Showplace sites have also attained top five listings in a recent Google search of "SaaS" and "managed services".

You can quickly add your company to the online directories by completing the provider or enabling technology supplier registration forms on the Managed Services and SaaS Showplaces.

THINKstrategies Launches Market Leaders Webcast Series

THINKstrategies has launched a new "Market Leaders" webcast series which showcases companies who are delivering innovative, on-demand solutions to meet the rapidly changing needs of large-scale enterprises, as well as small- and mid-size businesses (SMBs).

Our webcasts differ from traditional, structured webinars by combining the candid, unscripted, conversational qualities of podcasts with the visual benefits of online presentations.

As the producer and host of the Market Leaders webcast series, my goal is to provide a more interesting and engaging discussion with senior executives of companies who are in the forefront of the on-demand market. The webcasts will be pre-recorded, archived and 20-30 minutes in length so you can view them whenever fits your busy schedule.

In our first webcast, I talk with Steve Booth, VP of Business Development at Aria Systems, about unique transaction management challenges and opportunities in the on-demand services market. Steve talks about the Monetization Maturity Model which Aria has developed to respond to this important issue. Click here to view this webcast.

You can also click here to read THINKstrategies' whitepaper about the transaction management challenges and opportunities in the on-demand services market.

I hope you like our new webcast series, and welcome your feedback and suggestions.

On-Demand Services Change Everything

Last December, I predicted a series of trends and events which would accelerate the growth of on-demand services in 2008.

Two companies who have pioneered the on-demand movement are Google and Salesforce.com. Click here to read THINKstrategies whitepaper regarding the impact of their alliance on the rapidly changing workplace.

Over the past eight years, I have repeatedly stated that changing business needs, combined with new enabling technologies, is reshaping the IT services market, shifting the focus from 'break/fix' technical support and wholesale outsourcing to SaaS and managed services 'out-tasking' alternatives. Despite these trends, HP recently announced its intention to acquire EDS. Click here to read why I think this acquisition misses the real market opportunity.

Making the transition from a traditional product to an on-demand services orientation isn't easy. However, THINKstrategies has had the privilege of working with a growing number of companies who are committed to undertaking this transformation process. Click here to read a whitepaper sponsored by Callidus Software which discusses how enterprises can also make the shift to on-demand services.

You can also read my rebuttal of a recent commentary by Bruce Richardson of AMR Research suggesting that the SaaS model is fundamentally flawed from a financial standpoint. As you'll see, there is plenty of evidence that the SaaS movement and broader on-demand services market are well-positioned for long-term success.

Contact me if you'd like to discuss these trends.

New Showplace Sponsors , Perspectives and Benefits

I'm pleased to welcome a new sponsor to the SaaS Showplace, eVapt, which

provides an on-demand metering solution for on-demand service providers seeking to accelerate their revenues and reach optimal operational efficiency.

eVapt is hosting a webinar at 2pm EDT on June 12 for SaaS vendors, Cloud Computing and PaaS providers entitled, "Know Your Customer, Use Your Data" Growing Top-Line Revenue, Client Adoption Rates and License/Subscription Renewals."

The rapid growth of the SaaS market has created a new challenge of integrating multiple on-demand solutions and on-premise applications together across multiple business units and enterprises. Click here to read THINKstrategies' latest Strategic Thinking Profile that examines how Hubspan is addressing these multi-entity integration challenges.

The Managed Services and SaaS Showplace Best Practice Portals, provided by iCentera, also include numerous whitepapers regarding important on-demand service industry trends. Here are some examples:

AppStream has posted a whitepaper entitled, "The Dynamic Management of Software licenses."

Aria Systems has posted a THINKstrategies whitepaper entitled, "Overcoming the Transaction Management Challenges in the On-Demand Services Market".

Dell has submitted two whitepapers regarding Windows Vista Readiness - Preparing for the Journey and Engaging the Pros.

Kaseya has posted a THINKstrategies whitepaper on the Showplaces entitled, "Getting SMBs to Say Yes to Managed Services."

Oco has contributed a whitepaper entitled, "Calculating the ROI for Business Intelligence in SMBs", to the SaaS Showplace.

QuickArrow has also posted a new whitepaper entitled, "Five Steps to Effective Resource Management."

You can find more whitepapers on the Insights pages and within the Best Practices Portals of the Showplace sites.

Showplace sponsor, Symantec, is also offering the first three months of its Symantec Online Backup solution free to Showplace newsletter subscribers.

Another Showplace sponsor, Verio Business Solutions, is offering a portfolio of Business Solutions that optimizes a company's communications, customer service, security, data integrity and productivity capabilities without having to invest the time and resources typically associated with traditional software products. Verio is offering SaaS Showplace visitors and THINKstrategies newsletter subscribers a 60-Day, No-Risk Trial. Click here to learn more.

Click here if you'd like to learn how you can add your whitepapers to the Showplaces.

Upcoming Events

In addition to speaking at a number of corporate events, here are the upcoming public events where I will be providing THINKstrategies' perspective:

Pervasive Software Metamorphosis 8.0, May 28- 29, San Jose, CA.

Softletter's SaaS University, June 18-19, Waltham, MA. (You can save $100 on the registration fee by using code: THINKSAVE100.)

About THINKstrategies

THINKstrategies is a strategic consulting services company formed specifically to address the unprecedented business challenges facing IT managers, solutions providers and investors today as the technology industry shifts toward a services orientation.

The company's mission is to educate organizations about the on-demand services market, and help our clients capitalize on these trends to achieve their business objectives.

We help enterprise decision-makers with their sourcing strategies, IT solutions providers with their marketing strategies, and VCs with their investment strategies.

THINKstrategies is also the founder of the Software-as-a-Service and Managed Services Showplaces, the largest vendor-independent, online directory and information resource centers.